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Friday 11 May 2018

5,000 bottles refilled as free water proves a hit in stations

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

More than 5,000 bottles have been refilled in stations across the country as passengers make use of free water on the railway.

Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston have all seen an impressive take-up of people refilling their bottles in the 10 days since the water fountains were installed.

The free drinking water initiative, which is seeking to encourage customers and station users to refill their re-useable water bottles, is part of Network Rail’s wider ambitions to reduce the impact of plastic waste at its stations.

Karen Hornby, head of performance and customer relationship for Network Rail’s London North Western route, said: “5,000 bottle refills in our four stations in just over a week is impressive and shows there is a demand for free water in our stations.

“The water fountains allow passengers to refill their bottles on the go and means less single use plastic is used which is only good news for the environment.”

The initiative is in line with Network Rail’s commitment to reducing their energy consumption by 18% and carbon emissions by 25% over the next five years.